Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

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Chapter 217
Whitney felt a wave of relief wash over her when she heard his response, mistaking it for an agreement to come clean to their
elders once their engagement had stabilized the situation.
“Thanks for helping me house hunt. How about I treat you to dinner?”
“I’d be honored to accept. After you, my queen.”
Whitney couldn’t help but chuckle. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for such a humorous guy, Mr. Lutz.”
“I haven’t really dated much, so no teasing.” He flashed a bright smile as he reversed the car.
Whitney was mulling over some things she needed to discuss with him.
Once they were settled in the cozy booth of the restaurant, waiting for him to finish ordering, Whitney broached the subject. “Our
engagement, happening in five days-do you think we should hold a party, or just make a quiet announcement?”
She didn’t want any complications. If the Lutz elders got involved, it would be harder for her to extricate herself from the Lutz
family later.
“I understand your concerns, but a simple announcement won’t satisfy my uncles and aunts. The Lutz Group shareholders are
like hawks. We need an engagement ceremony to shut them up. At the very least, we have to invite my parents and a few key
family members.”
Whitney frowned. “I can’t hide my pregnancy forever. How will you explain it to your parents? Will they agree if they see me like
this?”
He poured her a glass of milk, a sly glint in his eye. “I’ve come up with a foolproof plan that’ll make them accept the child!”
“What is it?” Whitney was curious.
He played coy, touching his nose lightly. “Whitney, I can handle my father, but my mother is eager for my marriage. She insists
on seeing you when we go wedding dress shopping the day after tomorrow. You’ll find out then. So, do you agree to meet?”
Since the engagement party was going ahead, it wouldn’t do to meet his parents for the first time on that day.
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Whitney sighed in resignation. “If we’re putting on a show, might as well go the whole nine yards. I’ve met Claire once before.”

Bryce comforted her with a cryptic assurance. “You have nothing to worry about. My mother doesn’t bite. You just help me charm
her a bit, and after the engagement party, we’ll find a time to call the whole thing off.”
Hearing him say this, Whitney felt reassured.
The food arrived, and the doors to the private room closed. That’s when Whitney suddenly
asked, “Mr. Lutz, the blood test results for Ludwik’s mother, have they come out?”
“Yep.” Bryce took out his phone and slid it across the table with a serious look. “That’s partly why I wanted to see you today. I
sent samples to two different full-service labs, and the results were consistent. I think you need to see this.”
Whitney quickly took the phone and read the report.
Her expression turned grave afterwards.
Toxins were indeed present in Natalie’s bloodstream-trace amounts of a cunning poison that the body couldn’t expel on its own.
As she had suspected, it would gradually accumulate in the liver and kidneys, hastening the death of someone in a vegetative
state.
This explained why Ludwik’s doctors had failed to detect anything amiss daily.
And Elaine, after ensuring Natalie was left in a vegetative state, seemed worry-free, as if she wasn’t concerned about her waking
up.
With this situation, Natalie wouldn’t live three years, let alone one!

This toxin could cause renal failure within hours in high doses.
Elaine had applied a massive dose first, causing Natalie’s kidneys to fail and necessitate a transplant, then administered an
antidote. After the surgery, she injected small doses to deceive everyone!
Whitney was horrified by the realization and even more certain of the direction Tiana had taken in investigating how many kidney
transplants happened at the hospital that day.
To deliberately poison a healthy kidney was diabolical. Would such a woman voluntarily ‘donate’ a kidney?
Whitney was filled with doubt.
To prevent Elaine from harming Natalie again, Whitney knew she had to reveal the truth to Ludwik.
Her biggest worry after leaving was Natalie’s condition. She had to find a way to remove the toxins. Once they were cleared,
Natalie might have a chance to wake up.
With this thought, Whitney clenched her fists tightly, her appetite lost.
She stood up, bidding a hasty farewell to Bryce. “Bryce, could you send me a digital copy of the report? I have an emergency to
attend to.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for the malicious people around Ludwik. He’s blind to it, and you don’t have to take the fault on
yourself,” Bryce sighed.
Whitney paused, realizing that without her uncle’s kidnapping of Natalie, Elaine wouldn’t have had the chance to harm her.
She always felt guilty towards Natalie..

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That night, Whitney spent hours researching the toxin, drawing on the traditional medicine knowledge her mother had taught her,
especially in acupuncture and pharmacology.

The next day, Tiana called her with a plan to infiltrate the TriMed Hospital as an insider, but Whitney was worried. So she rushed
to the TriMed Hospital early in the morning, intending to investigate the kidney transplant patient situation with her, but Tiana
refused.
“You waddling around with that big belly makes me more nervous. Besides, you’re too conspicuous for Elaine. I’m better off
working alone.”
Tiana continued, “Your immediate concern should be your engagement with Bryce. Haven’t you seen the news? Yesterday, the
Lutz Group announced your engagement in five days, and that scumbag Ludwik has moved his engagement with Elaine up to
four days from now. I wonder if it was Elaine who prompted Skyfaith to make the announcement?
Anyway, the media was making a big deal out of their engagement. It’s likely to be a grand affair.
They’re even going to the most prestigious bridal shop to choose a wedding gown tomorrow! Even if your engagement with
Bryce is fake, I don’t want you guys to lose behind!”
She was speaking out of frustration. Whitney froze, her face tensing up, a sharp pain clustering
in her heart.
Ludwik had kept his word, moving up his engagement with Elaine to one day before hers with Bryce.
He was determined to embarrass her, aiming at humiliate her and Bryce in front of the entire
city.
Watching her face rapidly pale, Tiana belatedly shut up. She hugged her gently. “Why am I even mentioning him? You just focus
on your engagement with Bryce, and don’t overthink it. Right, weren’t you supposed to pick up some herbs? It’s too risky for us
to be here together. You better go now.”
Whitney snapped back to reality and nodded. She had identified thirty effective herbs against the neurotoxin for Natalie.
She needed to collect them, assess each one, and combine them with some specific medications to create pills that could
neutralize the toxin.

At the Skyfaith Electronic Tech headquarters.
On the 50th floor executive suite, the PR Manager was summoned into the office.
Ludwik looked up from the pile of documents with a stern gaze. “Did you release the news about the engagement party in four
days?”
“Ludwik, that was me.” Elaine sauntered in, a practiced smile on her lips. “The manager came to me for our latest PR strategy,
you know. The internet is buzzing with people eager for our
engagement. Didn’t you mention at the hospital yesterday that you wanted to move it up a day? I thought it was the perfect time
for Skyfaith to make the official announcement.”
A imperceptible frown creased Ludwik’s brow.
Despite his offhand remarks, it was clear Elaine had taken his words to heart, eager for the engagement. He could see her
eagerness, but chose not to call her out, his tone slightly displeased, “Did you also reveal that we’re going to pick out the
wedding dress tomorrow?”
Elaine’s grip tightened slightly. With a coy smile, she approached him playfully, “A reporter was pressing me for details yesterday,
and I accidentally let it slip. Are you angry with me, Ludwik? I’m sorry, I’ve been looking forward to this day for so long, I just got
too excited. Plus, the Bartels family is coming the day after tomorrow. If I let my parents know I’ve prepared nothing, they’d be
angry.”
Though her reasoning was coherent, a fleeting wave of irritation passed through Ludwik as he observed her gentle features.